It was a full house in the Ruth Lilly auditorium this morning as Riley Children’s Health nurses were recognized and celebrated during National Nurses Week. The awards ceremony was all about shining a light on nurses and the work they do to care for patients, families and each other. “I am humbled and excited to be here today to celebrate you and all the work you’ve been doing for the past year,” said Megan Isley, chief nursing officer, in her opening remarks. “We have had team successes, we’ve had individual successes, and we’ve had patient successes. We have so much to celebrate.” Nominees and winners in several categories received recognition from their peers and leadership during the ceremony. Among them: Daisy Nurse Leader Award: Sara Murff, 8 West. Other nominees: Amy Bales, SFT NICU; Nicole Blanford, Fort Wayne Clinic; Julie Christianson, IUHP Riley Nephrology; Jen Engelmann, Acute Care; Kathleen Head, 5 West; Ronin St. James, PICU; Jessy Henderson, CVICU; Tyler Hostetler, ED; Kelly Marvel, Maternity; Maggie Mohr, Maternity Tower NICU; Paul Plowman, Burn Unit; Lacy Vaughn, PICU and associate administrator; Ashlee White, North Peds/PICU. Read more to learn about all the Daisy winners by visiting the Riley Connections blog link below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers by visiting: rileychildrens.org/careers.
Jeffson Saint-Hilaire took a legal leap of faith one year ago this week and moved to Indianapolis from his homeland of Haiti. He left behind his mother, two sisters and friends, but also a country ravaged by natural disasters, political instability and violence. Now, the 25-year-old has a new home – in Indianapolis and at IU Health, where he is the newest interpreter on a team of a half-dozen based at Riley Hospital for Children. Language services is housed in the basement of the Riley Outpatient Center garage, but Saint-Hilaire and his colleagues are out and about every day at Riley, Methodist and University hospitals. Currently, there are 18 team members in language services, covering the three Downtown hospitals. There, they work with care teams, patients and families to communicate medical information and questions in the patient’s native language. Saint-Hilaire, who interprets for a growing local Haitian population that speaks Haitian Creole, began studying English and working as an interpreter while attending university in Haiti. “I was interpreting back in Haiti, but I was just doing it as a passion,” he said. “I never knew it was going to be a career until I got here and saw the great influx of Haitians. I discovered it was a special ability, so when I moved here, I trained to be a medical interpreter.” Read more about Jefferson's story by visiting our blog listed below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at rileychildrens.org/careers
When her youngest son was born seven years ago, Calley Burnett thought everything was fine until shortly before they were discharged. “We had an incredible nurse who heard a heart murmur, and she got the cardio team involved,” Burnett said. An echocardiogram of Spencer Burnett’s heart found he had multiple heart defects, including coarctation of the aorta and ventricular septal defects. The hospital team where Spencer was born contacted Riley Children’s Health, and that’s how Burnett’s journey with Riley began. “It was very scary,” she said, “especially because I didn’t have the medical knowledge I have now.” Burnett had a degree in management, but she was a stay-at-home mom at the time, with an older son, Cameron, and her newborn. “I had no idea what it all meant until they sat us down and explained everything to us,” she said. Their Riley journey, which included multiple surgeries and procedures, feeding problems, weeks in the hospital and hours upon hours of worry, opened Burnett’s eyes to the power of nursing. Learn more about Calley's journey to nursing by visiting our blog linked below. Explore inspiring & meaningful careers at Riley by visiting rileychildrens.org/careers
